The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Database consolidation involves distributing and sharing computer resources of a hardware platform among multiple databases. Important objectives of database consolidation include isolation, transportability, and fast provisioning. Isolation is the ability to limit an application's access to the appropriate database; an application is permitted access to a database while other applications are prevented access.
Transportability is another important objective. Transportability is the ability to efficiently move databases between hosts. Transportability facilities distribution of computer resources between databases being consolidated.
Fast provisioning is the ability to quickly deploy a database on a host. Fast provisioning facilitates transportability by enabling existing databases to be moved and/or copied to another host quickly. Fast provisioning also facilitates rapid deployment of new database to a host.
Discussed herein are approaches for consolidating databases that effectively meet these objectives.